Family
by PomKat
Summary: Bobby never had a real Christmas. Oneshot. Though, I might add onto it later. BA friendship.


-1Disclaimer: 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' and all its characters belong to Dick Wolf. Not me. : (

A/N: Blah, blah, blah. Just a little story. I might add onto it later, depends on the feedback. I'm not really sure about Goren's past Christmases, so I kind of made something up, same with Alex's nephew's appearance and name, and also Alex's birth month. I don't think they ever mentioned any of these things it in the series. I'm also not sure what Bobby's mother or brother's names are, so I'll just steal some from some other stories (Gosh, I need to watch more LAO!). Anyway, enjoy!

---

_Family_

Robert Goren didn't have a large family like his partner, Alexandra Eames. But it was about quality, not quantity, right?

Then again, his family didn't have anything to be too proud of.

There he sat, on the couch in his partner's parents' home, watching her aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and grandparents and cousins. There was a bustle of noise. The pitter-patter of the feet of little children, the shouting of a young teenager trying her best to speak to her near-deaf grandfather, the talk of new babies, old friends, and the delicious meal waiting in the kitchen, and the loud snoring of an old woman who had been asleep since Bobby had arrived. There was a large Christmas tree propped up in a corner of the room, all lit up and sparkling with presents flooding at its base. A normal Christmas in the Eames' household.

Bobby had never really had one of those.

For the past few years, Bobby's Christmas was a visit to his mother and a call to his brother. Maybe a gift exchange with his partner, but that was all. His childhood Christmases hadn't been much better than that, either. There had never been a big Christmas dinner with honey ham and vegetables, nor had there been any gifts under the tree.

Actually, there hadn't ever been a tree.

He had felt awkward when Alex had asked him to join her at her parents' house for the holiday. He remembered it so well. The asking of the question, the pale pink tint that had spread across his cheeks, and the stuffing of his hands into his pocket as he stared down at the floor. He was reluctant at first, telling Alex that he didn't belong there and that he would only been in the way. She had only laughed, patted his arm, and told him to think about it. She never prodded him about it again.

But when he showed up at her doorstep with the winter wind whipping his coat into the air, her face had lit up, much as the Christmas tree he was currently staring at, and he knew then that it was all worth it.

He looked up as Alex collapsed in the seat next to him with a large sigh of relief. She beamed over at him and clasped her hands together. "I'm so glad you could come," she said, the happiness twisting through her words and jumping out to punch him in the face. "So is everyone else. They love you here."

He'd figured that much out when he had entered the house and was bombarded with exclamations of "Hiya, Bobby!" and "So thrilled to see you could make it, Robert!" He had been tackled into hugs by some of the small children he had befriended from the few times he was able to make it to one of the Eames' little shindigs, and his hand had been clasped and shaken so many times that he thought his arm would fall right off.

"I'm glad I came too," Bobby replied truthfully as he gave her a smile.

The both of them looked over when a squeal of "Bobby!" sounded from one of the children and a small toddler came wobbling over. Bobby's smile grew wider and he leaned over to pick up and pull Alex's beloved nephew into his lap.

"Hiya, Chris," he said playfully as he gave the boy's curly, bright blond hair a tug, making a 'boing!' sound to go along with it. The toddler giggled and slapped his chubby little hands over his mouth.

"Lookie!" The toddler, Christopher, exclaimed as he held up a red toy racecar.

"I let him open a present early," Alex commented softly as the boy handed Bobby the car so he could examine it.

"Very cool." Bobby handed the car back to the boy and sat him on the floor, giving his hair a quick ruffle before the boy went giggling away. "He's cute," he said to his partner.

"Yeah."

He looked over to Alex as she watched her nephew go. Her streaky blonde hair was set in soft curls, framing her pretty face, and her petite body was covered with a dull red turtle neck and straight-legged black pants. Around her neck stood the thin gold chain he had given her earlier that week, at the end of it sat a small diamond; her birthstone.

He recalled that she had been so surprised when she had received the gift. So utterly and totally shocked that she had thrust the box it laid in back at him and said there must have been some mistake.

"It's yours, really."

"I can't take it, Bobby," she said, pursing her lips. "I don't deserve it."

He laughed, shook his head and grabbed her hand, laying the narrow box in it. "Yes, you do deserve it. Just take it and pretend you like it, 'kay?"

Reluctantly, she took the box and nodded while staring down at it. "Thanks a lot, Bobby. I love it." She glanced over her shoulder at the small bag that laid on her desk. "Now I feel silly because you gave me this great gift and I got something totally stupid."

"Nothing you can give me could possibly be stupid, Eames."

This having been said, Alex reached over and snatched up the bag. She handed it to him as she chewed on her tongue. "Hopefully it won't be too disappointing," she said with a sigh.

It had been a tie. A black tie with little white snowmen all dressed in scarves and hats dancing on its surface. He remembered he had laughed and pulled Alex into a hug, thanking her for the wonderful gift.

He wore it now as the two detectives lifted themselves from the couch and walked into the large dining area where Alex's sister was calling everyone in for dinner. She asked for all of them to be silent while they grasped hands and said grace.

A few minutes later, the children scattered and scampered away while their parents lined up to retrieve their dinners. Bobby scooted up behind Alex with a pretty plate, decorated with a floral pattern, in his hands. In no time, they were through the line and sitting back on the couch with the plates of steaming food in their laps. Alex pulled apart a biscuit while Bobby took a bite of green beans.

"Your mother's cooking is wonderful," Bobby commented graciously as he forked up a bite of yam.

"Isn't it?" Alex smiled at him and smeared the biscuit with a bit a butter. "Have you gone to visit your mother yet?"

"I went earlier today, but I think I'll go back after this."

"Want me to go with you?"

"Sure, if you really want to." Bobby nodded at her, glad that she cared.

Nearly an hour later, they gathered in the living area and began to tear open gifts. Wrapping paper flew around the room, children's giggles and shouts of joy lingered in the air, and small talk wandered from person to person as the night's festivities grew to an end. Bobby helped Alex shove the bags of gifts she had received into the back of her car and she went back inside to wish everyone a good night and a Merry Christmas.

She returned to his side, all bundled up in a fluffy black coat, ready to go. "You wanna drive?" she asked even as she reached for the passenger's side door, something she rarely ever did.

Bobby shrugged and slipped into the car, cranking the heat after he had started the engine. In silence, they drove to Carmel Ridge.

---

"Hi, mom." Bobby kissed his mother on the cheek, handed her the plate of wrapped up food he had snagged from the party. "You remember Alex?"

"Oh yes. Pretty Alexandra. Hello, there." Frances Goren leaned forward as Alex held out her arms for a hug.

"Nice to see you again," Alex said with a smile.

Frances gave her a quick flash of a grin then turned to her son and held out the plate. "Please open this for me, Bobby. My hands aren't as strong as they used to be." She leaned back onto the pillows behind her and sighed. When Bobby had successfully unwrapped the food, he pulled the small, rolling table to her bed and sat her dinner on it. She began to cut into it as conversation slowly reared it's little head.

Nearly half an hour later, when Frances' plate was close to clean, her eldest son popped in while dusting the snow from his shoulders. "Hiya, ma." He said, and kissed the top of her graying head. The shorter version of Bobby then turned to stare at Alex as he outstretched his large hand. "Alex, right?"

"Yes, hello. You're Michael?"

"Mhm." The man peeled off his damp coat and dropped into a seat at the base of his mother's bed.

_This_, Bobby thought as he stared around at the people crammed into the room, _is family. _He looked over to his mother, who popped another forkful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, then to Michael, who attempted to make a joke about the freezing weather. And last his brown eyes fell onto Alex, who gazed back at him with a smile lingering on those pretty lips. He grinned back, nodded his head.

Yes, this was family. His family.


End file.
